MenoSundays; Life Lived Lovingly

This is a famous clarion call from Swami Vivekananda, as he rallied people to reach for the highest standards of humanity within themselves.

Today, though, I thought to use it also to back up the call-to-action I put out on Thursday. It occurred to me that, while that particular event mentioned is specifically in the UK, there is absolutely no reason at all that all of you reading this in Australia, India, countries of Europe, Canada, and the USA could not write, email or text your relevant offices of government registering your concerns as raised by the IPCC report last week.

How does that fit in with living lovingly? How could it not?!!! Concern for the environment and climate is concern for all of humanity as well as all the flora and fauna of this gem of a planet.

So easily we can say 'I love you', but how often do those words lie empty? They only vibrate with life when we fill them with emotion in our voice, with the outreach of our hand, through touch - that is to say, by acting upon the words we spoke. Below here, you can read the draft of my message to my local MSP to use as inspiration for your own action. Don't just sit there, do something. Sometimes Love with the capital 'ell' means stretching your boundaries! (Please note, the draft will be formalised one week prior to The Big One, allowing for any developments between now and then. You do not have to use the references, but simply take this is a framework.)

DRAFT MESSAGE TO MEMBER OF SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT TO BE BROUGHT TO ATTENTION OF THE UK GOVERNMENT.

RE: The Big One April 21st, 2023

Dear......,

I am writing to confirm to you that whilst not physically able to attend the gathering in Westminster on the date above, I am no less concerned by the matters raised by the organisers and fully support the action.

I have perused the IPCC report myself, and it makes fearful reading. Focus on fossil fuels needs to be stopped immediately, and attention turned to the fullest on expanding the renewables infrastructure. Not 30 years, not 20 years, not even 10 or five years from now. Action must be taken without delay. The IPCC Summary for Policy Makers clearly lays out the issues and explores actions for mitigation. It should be read by all of the government and its suggestions taken into earliest consideration.

In this article from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, it concludes with a damning statement (in reference to a recent conference at Sharm el Shaikh), 

Countries were unable, however, to adopt a formal decision to agree to phase out fossil fuels, and even more disappointing, they did essentially nothing to assure that previous commitments to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions would be fulfilled.

Would the UK government not like to become the one to say, 'wait a minute!' and lead the turn toward a truly sustainable future???

Thank you for taking the time to read and in advance for your acknowledgement of the contents.

Sincerely,

Menoturals; Saturday Sounds

Here's one that brings me back to two places. There were Eastern Koels all around me at Asquith, and their call through the spring and early summer always lifted the heart. I was delighted, therefore, to find that outside my window in Mumbai, there were close cousins, the Asian Koels, who sounded the same and thus connected me to my Aussie home. The male also looks pretty much identical, the Indian female, though, as might be imagined, is slightly more prettily dressed!

Menogurgulation; This, That, The Other

Okay, so the fact is the jumper is finished... however, in promising it to you for this week while still in last week and still under the influence of the weird lurgy, I had completely forgotten to check the calendar. Turns out this is a five-Friday month. I had been plotting to turn the presentation of the jumper, along with a bit of a "how I came to crochet" potted history, into a post tying in with my late mother's birthday... i.e. today. I could still do that... but then I would have to go back to scratch to come up with a decent post for...

(Yes, that is also your reminder to come up with something extra special for the last Friday of the month and link your post in the comments to my FFF - the "rulez" or on that tab up top!) Which, by default, meant I had something at least for today's post 😄

You will have noted that I spoke of the lurgy in the past tense. At last. To be honest, I am not 100%, but a goodly part of it, just some lingering lethargy and much-reduced-but-still-there-niggly cough.

Another tidbit; a few of the old-timers here (as in readers, not years...ahem!) might have noted the wee badge at the bottom of yesterday's post and wondered. Yes, it was the OoWaC badge from the days of Blogville and when I was elected to that Office of Wellness and Concerns! I have reworked it slightly, adding the three flags that represent me. While the office - and, sadly, it has to be acknowledged, Blogville, too - are now defunct, my interest remains in matters of health, well-being, environment, ecology, climate, philosophical, psychological ... yeah, well, you get the picture... as they relate to us as individuals and as a society. Thus, I still make posts like yesterday, with 'pay attention' and 'call to action' elements. I could have set up a different badge and name, but I rather like that connection to our original little group and thought to recycle it. 

Several readers have come along since those heydays of Blogville (and for the newer ones - that was a group of some 30ish blogs who collaborated on various online happenings and even one fabulous "in the furs" meetup), and readership interests have broadened and reflected the eclectic nature of this blog. Blogville went on for quite a few years, but - as is natural in any family or town - the population tends to reduce over time as elders fade away or other life matters take precedence. I still miss some of those wonderful peeps and their pets, but this is the way of things. One must continue on one's own path.

I still miss you, Mum.